Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon's babies in tabloid controversy

Susannah Breslin is a blogger and writer. She covers all things culture, from celebrities and Hollywood to movies and style. She's written for Harper's Bazaar, Details, Salon, Slate, Esquire.com, and The Frisky.com.

Tabloid scam targets twins

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon's twins aren't even out of the hospital yet, and they've already been the victims of an attempted tabloid scam. Moroccan Cannon and Monroe Cannon are infants, but they're in the headlines already.

Were Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon's babies involved in a tabloid scam before they even checked out of the hospital? That's what Showbiz411 is reporting. According to the site, Moroccan Cannon and Monroe Cannon narrowly escaped a tabloid hussle that would have exposed them to the world while they're still in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Here's how it supposedly went down. Purportedly, Carey was breastfeeding Roc and Roe and a nurse recommended Carey drink a Guinness Stout to speed up her breast milk production. Carey did so, and the trick worked.

At the same time, a worker on the unit is reported to have contacted Child Protective Services to claim that Carey was drinking and taking pain medication while breastfeeding. In response, a social worker supposedly showed up at the hospital to investigate child neglect charges.

In fact, the person who filed the erroneous claim was simply trying to get someone -- the social worker -- to take photos of the as-yet-unseen celebrity babies, which could then be sold to the tabloids for an astronomical amount. Luckily, the scam was stopped before it could start, and the Cannon twins were kept out of the spotlight.

"Taxpayer money was wasted, too, because this was labeled an emergency," the site reports the couple as saying. "It was ridiculous."

Roc and Roe were born less than two weeks ago. Mariah and Nick renewed their vows the following day in the hospital. The couple has been married for three years.